


Manners and Decency

by yuletide_archivist



Category: Rome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-12-20
Updated: 2006-12-20
Packaged: 2018-01-25 06:49:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1637363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuletide_archivist/pseuds/yuletide_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Anthony continues to misbehave and Atia secretly enjoys it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Manners and Decency

**Author's Note:**

> Only a brief message - thank you to lilka of livejournal for giving me last minute inspiration when I was well and truly stuck.
> 
> Written for Starrysummer

 

 

Atia examined the table before her, making certain everything was set out perfectly so as to pass for a feast while her servants rearranged the curls of her hair just so. Inviting Anthony around was always asking for trouble but he was entertaining and had a talent for explaining military situations without making them boring, a rare talent and even rarer demonstrated amongst those she knew. No one could deny he was a brute - or would, for that matter - but anyone who knew him well enough saw that alongisde the brutality sat a spark of intelligence. Indeed, his wits seemed to fuel his lust for battle; blood alone bored him, she had seen him tire of gladiatorial displays where the opponents just hacked at each other blindly. She suspected it also explained why he and Caesar were content to entertain each other as friends; Caesar's lust for battle without blindly wandering into suicidal situations kep Anthony placated, while having a bloodthirsty figure in his armour who allowed himself to be moved like a pawn but knew the reasoning behind each positioning was a bonus to her dearest uncle.

"He is here, domina."

"Oh how marvelous," Atia replied, slapping aside the hands still tinkering with her hair before sitting up straighter. There was little point in arranding for servants to bring Anthony in given he was content to walk everywhere as if he owned the city, and that proud frame entered the room with a typical flourish.

"Atia, if Venus only knew of you she would kill you for jealousy!" Boistrous and arrogant as ever, and she laughed before gesturing for the hairdressers to leave and the soldier to sit down.

"My dearest Anthony, you could charm Diana herself into bed. How was the ceremony, Tribune of the plebs?"

He yawned theatrically before slouching down on the adjacent couch and bowing his head slightly in thought. "It was ghastly. I've had more fun picking leeches from my skin in Gaullish swamps."

"Frankly I've always rather liked the old rituals," Atia mused, winding a curl around her fingers as if to look absent-minded. "But I can see how a man of your demeanour could find it all boring."

"Are you implying something about my demeanour?" Anthony asked before picking an apple from the table and looking at the sad little rodent face sticking out of it. "What in Hades is this?"

"An education, if you like," Atia replied, taking one for herself and biting into the stuffed apple before gesturing with it as she continued, "If you're going to be attending dinners as Tribune you simply must learn to eat without pulling ridiculous faces. I know you soldiers prefer your food plain but to live with nobles you have to practise a little restraint, and gagging at dormice is going to get you into trouble."

He shook his head, taking a small bite before grimacing and throwing it over his shoulder. "Perhaps I've been told to practise the same restraint I always do. Where are your children? Not that I regret their absence, but -"

"Octavia's still sulking while Octavian reads. Honestly, they could do with a little variety in their lives."

Anthony laughed before sitting up and hunching over the table, picking over the various plates in search of something he might consider a little more edible. "You should just be relieved you have a daughter and son who get along. Most siblings their age would make dogs look civilised. And it's rare you see a brother with such affection for his sister."

"I think they're too soft on each other," Atia huffed, watching Anthony's critical appraisal of the various dishes and the growing pile of discarded food on the floor around him. "He lets her whine and she lets him *cry*, of all things. A grown boy, crying! And it isn't as if we have enough marriageable men left in the family. If word gets out he's crying at his age, he'll be the laughing stock of all Rome." Another sigh and shake of the head. "Sometimes I think the men of this family should be banned from politics altogether."

"Ah, but then you wouldn't have me to scheme at," Anthony countered. "Except perhaps as a legionnaire."

"As if I would let a legionnaire into my bed! You'd have to kill my men and rape me. I'm quite tempted to banish any men lower than Tribune in future."

"My Atia touched by another? *Never*." He gave up, taking another apple and pulling the dormouse from its center before biting in.

"See? You're learning already. This whole Tribune issue does seem rather exciting though - a man from a sacred office in my bed? If I had a cock I could be sliced up for ravishing you, I'm sure of it."

"And every day I thank Zeus you weren't given one. At least Caesar's ambition has reason to its madness." Talking had sprayed a little apple down his armour and he frowned before brushing it aside. "Honestly, I think if a legionnaire killed all your servants before barging into your bedroom you'd be wet for him before he'd opened the door."

"How I ever get along without your charm to entertain me, I don't know." Atia waved a servant over before addressing Anthony again. "Shall I have fruit and wine brought to the bedroom?"

"I think you should. An apple in your mouth might stop you letting all of Rome know when we're in bed."

"I don't call your name, although maybe I should start," Atia replied, shoving him playfully in the chest and getting a slap on the thigh in return. "But that would only fuel your arrogance, wouldn't it?"

"You know me so well," Anthony grumbled before rising to his feet and pulling her up into his arms, shoving his face into her hair and sniffing her curls. "God, it's good to smell a real woman once in a while."

"You soldiers and your buggery!" Atia pulled away before walking off in the direction of the bedroom, expecting him to follow and having the expectations met.

"I'll have you know I was talking about the Gallic women. They might have soft faces but they get bodies like rocks from the hard living and they stink like men. Sanitation's the best thing we do for those countries."

"I'm sure the living ones appreciate the effort," Atia replied wryly, hearing the clatter of armour on the floor as Anthony's impatience got the better of him. "Don't you dare get overexcited before I'm done with you, I bathed especially for the occasion."

"I'm sure I'll find a way to hold back. Thinking about your uncle and his wife ought to do it."

"I'd always thought you fond of my uncle," Atia teased, earning another grimace from Anthony.

"There's a difference between holding back and not starting at all." Incense wafted out from the bedroom as Atia opened the door, heavy and almost foreboding, but he didn't bring himself to complain. A rarity indeed. "When will the food arrive?"

"I thought you could begin with something a little more entertaining for starters," Atia replied, turning and running a hand lightly down his tunic with her best beguiling smile. "But I'd suggest rinsing your mouth out first. We do have water on hand."

"I think that sounds tempting enough," Anthony agreed, casting his belt aside for a slightly flustered servant to pick up as he narrowed the gap between himself and Atia, gripping her backside through the light material of her dress. "The padding of nobility. I've been longing for an ass that delicious since the day I left Rome."

"Then attend to it. I trust you didn't lose your stamina out on the battlefield."

Anthony grinned and lifted her easily onto the bed, stretching out over her with a grin wicked enough to make Mars quake in fear. "I think you can find that out for yourself."

And as it turned out twenty minutes later, much to Octavia's frustration elsewhere in the home, Atia's trust had been wisely placed.

 


End file.
